Chicago City Wire

Former state university employee Shirley Hopkins Johnson, who retired in May 2016, saved $34,934 toward a pension over 16 years working for state universities, State Universities Retirement System of Illinois records show.

Over 30 years of retirement, Hopkins Johnson would collect as much as $580,707, according to a projection by Local Government Information Services (LGIS), which publishes Chicago City Wire.

The projection assumes Hopkins Johnson received $12,206 in the first year of retirement, then 3 percent annual increases thereafter, compounded.

After 3 years of retirement, Hopkins Johnson will have already received $37,727 in retirement benefits, or more than the sum total of the retiree's contributions to the state pension fund.